Early Friday at MINWR

I don’t have much to say this morning, so the photos will have to do most of the talking. I started yesterday along the Indian River at Space View Park.

Watching the morning sun. This is a two frame, blended exposure. I made the bottom half exposed for the water with a Neutral Density filter to slow my shutter speed to 20 seconds at ISO 100 and f/11. I made the top part with the filter off, exposed for the sunrise at ISO 100, f/11, 1/100 second. I was very happy to see the Osprey fly through the frame with a fish as I clicked the shutter. I blended them together in Photoshop with a layer mask.

Juvenile Little Blue Heron. There were several around, so they must be nesting nearby. I’ve seen Green Herons breeding there, but not Little Blue Herons.

A Mottled Duck. I don’t spot these too often. When I looked it up, I learned (or maybe re-learned) some things. Mottled Ducks are related to both Black Ducks and Mallards, and are the only duck adapted to breeding in southern marshes. The Florida population is a subspecies and the male has lost its distinctive plumage so that the both sexes are colored alike.